CIHR Institute of Aging's new Brain Health and Cognitive Impairment in Aging (BHCIA) Research Initiative

CIHR, in collaboration with confirmed partners, is pleased to provide information about two upcoming strategic funding opportunities. These funding opportunities stem from the 2022 Federal Budget announcement committing $20M over 5 years for CIHR to ramp up efforts to learn more about dementia and brain health, to improve treatment and outcomes for persons living with dementia, and to evaluate and address mental health consequences for caregivers and different models of care.

Background

CIHR’s Institute of Aging (CIHR-IA) is committed to advancing knowledge about promoting brain health in aging, the causes of age-related cognitive impairment and dementia, and strategies to improve the treatment, care, and support for those impacted, including caregivers and families.

CIHR’s new Brain Health and Cognitive Impairment in Aging (BHCIA) Research Initiative will build on the successes of previous and ongoing investments in dementia research and expand into new and promising areas that address critical knowledge gaps in research on dementia and brain health in aging, with the following goals:

1. Create knowledge about resilience in brain aging, identify and reduce risks that can result in cognitive impairment, and mobilize this knowledge to change approaches to brain health
2. Improve care and services for people with cognitive impairment and dementia
3. Develop, evaluate and implement strategies to improve the health and wellbeing of care givers and care providers

Cross-cutting priorities of the initiative are: (a) capacity building and training, (b) enhanced national and international leadership and engagement with stakeholders in the delivery of evidence-informed solutions, and (c) knowledge mobilization for impactful uptake of research outcomes with an emphasis on health equity and Indigenous representation.

Description

The first two funding opportunities to be launched under the BHCIA Research Initiative are: 1) Operating Grants; and 2) Knowledge Synthesis and Mobilization Grants. These funding opportunities are aimed at creating new knowledge and understanding brain health and cognitive impairment, as well as fostering knowledge mobilization and collaboration between relevant stakeholders.We anticipate that more funding pools may be added before the launch of the funding opportunities through additional partnerships.

1) Operating Grants: Mechanisms in Brain Aging and Dementia

The CIHR-IA, in partnership with the Institutes of Infection and Immunity (CIHR-III) and Genetics (CIHR-IG), are pleased to announce the upcoming Operating Grants funding opportunity, to advance the understanding about risk reduction and protective factors involved in promoting cognitive health and mitigating the changes that occur in the onset and progression of cognitive impairment and dementia in aging, while considering the intersection of different factors, including the social determinants of health and other structural and systemic barriers. The intent is also to build training and mentoring capacity for the next generation of researchers in the field.

Objectives

The specific objectives of the funding opportunity will be to:

• Support the creation of new knowledge to improve the understanding of factors and mechanisms that impact cognitive health and resilience and reduce risk of cognitive impairment in aging.
• Catalyze and build training and mentoring capacity to foster career development of the next generation of researchers in the field.
• Foster collaboration and partnerships between stakeholders.
• Enable knowledge mobilization practices throughout the research process and increase the usefulness and uptake of research findings by relevant stakeholders, including partners and knowledge users.

Research Areas

This funding opportunity will support applications relevant to its objectives in animal models of disease, human populations and/or studies that leverage existing datasets (from Canadian or international cohort studies, platforms, or databases, including data from biospecimens and biomarker analysis in any of the following research areas that include, but are not limited to:

• Mechanisms underlying resilience or cognitive reserve that maintain cognitive abilities and/or mitigate risk for cognitive impairment.
• Mechanisms underlying resistance that maintain brain health in the presence of pathophysiology.
• Differing pathophysiology underlying cognitive health, such as individuals with positive β-amyloid and/or tau biomarkers but normal cognition, or individuals that revert from mild cognitive impairment to normal or near-normal cognitive function.
• Role of protective and modifiable risk factors in promoting brain health in aging, including those factors that contribute across the life course. These can include, but are not limited to, modifiable lifestyle factors, common risk factors with metabolic disorders, cardiovascular disease, rare diseases, other co-morbidities, sleep, inflammaging, as well as genetic factors and sex differences.
• Modifiable risk factors that can delay the onset or slow disease progression.
• Genetic risk factors underlying neurodegeneration and cognitive decline.
• Interplay between and role of genetics, epigenetics and multi-omics in brain resilience and/or cognitive reserve in aging.

In addition, there will be a minimum of two (2) specific funding pools dedicated to funding projects relevant to:

• Infection and Inflammation: Focusing on mechanisms underlying resistance that maintain brain health in the presence of pathophysiology, including chronic inflammatory conditions, infection, or post infection sequelae; and,
• Indigenous Health Research: Focusing on either:
  • Social determinants of health that impact the health and well-being of Indigenous Peoples (e.g., food security/sovereignty/nutrition); or,
  • Multiple comorbidities experienced by Indigenous Peoples (e.g., metabolic disorders).

Funds Available

The total amount available for this funding opportunity is $6.75M, enough to fund approximately nine (9) grants. This amount may increase if additional funding partners participate. The maximum amount per grant is $250,000 per year over four (4) fiscal years, for a total of $750,000 per grant.

Anticipated Timelines

Launch: March 2023
Applicant Webinar: April 2023
Registration deadline: June 13, 2023
Application deadline: July 12, 2023
Notice of decision: November 15, 2023
Funding Start date: November 1, 2023

Partnership Linkage Tool

CIHR is providing a Partnership Linkage Tool that is intended to facilitate connections between researchers and knowledge users (including people with lived/living experience (PWLE) and decision makers), should there be interest. This is not a mandatory tool. Information is provided on a volunteer basis and does not confer any advantages in the evaluation and funding of applications. The table will be updated weekly, until the application deadline. If you would like to use this tool, please complete a short form. The information you provide will appear on a public CIHR web page. Please note that potential applicants are not required to use the linkage tool or contact those who have submitted information.

2) Brain Health and Reduction of Risk for Age-related Cognitive Impairment - Knowledge Synthesis and Mobilization Grants

The CIHR Institute of Aging (CIHR-IA), in partnership with the Institutes of Circulatory and Respiratory Health (CIHR-ICRH), Gender and Health (CIHR-IG) and Genetics (CIHR-IG) and the HIV/AIDS and STBBI Research Initiative are pleased to announce the upcoming Knowledge Synthesis and Mobilization Grants funding opportunity to support the development of knowledge syntheses, using an equity, diversity and inclusion lens, to assess the current state of knowledge and evidence base, and identify strengths and gaps in research areas related to the promotion of brain health and risk reduction for age-related cognitive impairment. This will include a specific focus on knowledge mobilization practices throughout the research process to increase the usefulness and uptake of findings to relevant stakeholders, including partners and knowledge users, as well as the creation of culturally appropriate, equitable and inclusive targeted knowledge mobilization (KM) products.

Objectives

The objectives of the BHCIA Knowledge Synthesis and Mobilization Grants funding opportunity will be to:

• Generate knowledge syntheses that will identify evidence-gaps and build evidence-based knowledge related to the promotion of brain health and reduction of risk for age-related cognitive impairment;
• Mobilize knowledge on the current state of science that is relevant, equitable and accessible (i.e., that identifies the current state of knowledge and gaps and is communicated effectively); and,
• Strengthen research excellence and ensure maximum research impact through consideration of diverse biological and/or socio-cultural identity factors in research design, including diverse, equitable and inclusive research methods, such as those based in Indigenous ways of knowing.

The specific objectives of the knowledge mobilization (KM) component are to:

• Enhance a common understanding between stakeholders on promotion of brain health and risk reduction for age-related cognitive impairment;
• Generate accessible KM products for dissemination that are tailored to relevant stakeholders based on the knowledge synthesis and includes equity, diversity and inclusion and Indigenous rights considerations, as appropriate;
• Foster collaboration and partnerships between stakeholders; and,
• Increase usefulness and relevant uptake of evidence/knowledge by stakeholders, including partners and knowledge users.

Research Areas

This FO will support applications relevant to the objectives and any of the following research areas that include, but are not limited to:

• Protective and modifiable risk factors and the role of cognitive reserve in promoting brain health in aging, including factors that contribute across the life course.
• Mechanisms of resilience or cognitive reserve that can underlie healthy brain aging and/or mitigate risk for cognitive impairment.
• Risk reduction in factors that contribute to the development of cognitive impairment: modifiable risk factors and interventions that can delay the onset or slow disease progression. These can include common risk factors with metabolic disorders, cardiovascular disease, rare diseases, other co-morbidities, sleep disturbances or inflammation.
• Differing pathophysiology underlying cognitive health, for example individuals with positive β-amyloid and/or tau biomarkers, but normal cognition, or individuals that revert from mild cognitive impairment to normal or near-normal cognitive function.
• Genetic and epigenetic risks factors underlying neurodegeneration and cognitive decline.

Within this FO, there are a minimum of six (6) specific funding pools dedicated to funding projects relevant to:

• Indigenous Health Research
• Historically Excluded Populations
• Sex and Gender Differences
• Vascular Cognitive Impairment
• Dementia Genetic Factors
• Sexually Transmitted and Blood Borne Infections

Knowledge syntheses may integrate results from qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods research.

Funds Available

The total amount available for this funding opportunity is $1.5M, enough to fund approximately fifteen (15) grants. This amount may increase if additional funding partners participate. The maximum amount per grant is $100,000 per year, for one (1) year.

Anticipated Timelines

Knowledge Synthesis and Knowledge Mobilization Grants:
Launch: March 2023
Webinar: April 2023
Registration deadline: May 25, 2023
Application deadline: June 22, 2023
Notice of decision: October 30, 2023
Funding Start date: November 1, 2023

Date modified:

2023-02-20